Russia: Medvedev talks the importance of arms market at RAE-2015

The Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev the country is interested in maintaining and increasing its position as a key player in the global arms market, at Arms Expo-2015 (RAE-2015) in Nizhni Tagil, Thursday. Medvedev stated that "Russia ranks second worldwide in arms sales." He continued, telling the audience "our military export revenues are significantly higher and they are an essential part of our budget. The number of existing orders amounts totally $40 billion (€35 billion). Of course, we are interested in increasing its volume." As for the RAE-2015, according to Medvedev, "the number of companies participating in the exhibition has already broken records." More than 60 countries including Turkey, Korea, France, Jordan and at least 160 Russian and international companies are present at the expo. The prime minister noted that "such a representative competition" is "an indicator of interest shown in our exhibition and our military hardware." The exhibition is organised by the Russian Defence Ministry, the Russian Military-Industrial Commission and the Russian state arms export agency 'Rosoboronexport'. The aim of RAE-2015 is to promote Russian military equipment to domestic and foreign markets and demonstrate the latest achievements in Russian and foreign arms manufacturers. RAE-2015 is one of the world's largest international weapons expos and has been held bi-annually in the Sverdlovsk oblast since 1999.